Memphis Meltdown

In what could be a considered the year of the Meltdown, Memphis added their name to the list of choke artists. Leading 60-51 with 2:12 to play, the Tigers had a national title in their grasp. This coming in a year where despite how many games they won, no one would give them the credit they deserved. Three key factors led to the collapse.

1) Abysmal free-throw shooting down the stretch, hitting just 1/5 in the final 1:15 of regulation.
2) With a 7-point lead and all the momentum with 1:54 play, a stolen inbounds pass followed by a subsequent 3-ball from Sherron Collins.
3) A very questionable decision not to foul with only 10 seconds left and a 3-point lead.

All three of these are inexcusable, but it seems coach John Calipari is taking the brunt of this from talking heads around the nation. In my opinion, the blame should fall squarely upon the shoulders of the players. CDR missed his last three free throws, and with a chance to ice the game, Derrick Rose (considered to be one of the top players in the country) only hits 1/2. Additionally, Joey Dorsey commits a foolish foul with 1:23 left, knocking himself out of the game and giving Kansas 2 free points. This is not representative of poor coaching, but of poor execution by the stars of your team.

And can you really fault Calipari for not wanting to foul in that situation? After all, Kansas shot 14/15 from the stripe yesterday. Should he really have given Kansas 2 free points, and then put his own team back on the line and trusted them to respond?

You can blame Calipari all you want, call him a great recruiter but an average coach until you are blue in the face, but when you put your team in a position to win, you must be able to count on your stars to deliver. When a first team All-American misses 3 foul shots down the stretch, it's time to blame the player, not the coach.

On the flip side, lets give some credit to Kansas for the a gutsy comeback. The tremendous play by Collins, two clutch free throws from Mario Chalmers, and of course, Chalmers historic desperation three to send the gave to OT. Kansas stayed calm, they did not panicked, and they executed down the stretch, and thus, deserved to win.